As the City of Poughkeepsie looks to artists to help spur revitalization, a developer has set aside 50 apartments for them to rent at a discount in a Main Street building set to open soon.

Queen City Lofts wants painters, musicians, poets, actors and others with a passion for creative expression to apply for 50 one-and two-bedroom apartments reserved for income-eligible artists. The apartments include studio space.

Queen City Lofts is also seeking applicants for another 19 units that have not been designated for artists, but are open to anyone who earns the median Dutchess County income or less. To secure an apartment, an artist — eligibility is determined by a committee — must earn 60 percent of the median income or less.

The median household income in Dutchess for 2012-2016, in 2016 dollars, was $72,706, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Developer Ken Kearney is eyeing the end of January for the first residents to move in.

This initiative complements nicely the city’s push to harness the arts as an economic engine, said Poughkeepsie Mayor Rob Rolison. He believes Queen City Lofts is the first-ever housing in the city to target artists.

“This is another part of our really important arts scene,” he said. “This is going to draw more artists, who are practicing their craft, to the city.”

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A two bedroom apartment inside Queen City Lofts in the City of Poughkeepsie on November 16, 2018.(Photo11: Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal)

The arts leave a multi-million dollar impact on the local economy, with the Bardavon 1869 Opera House in Poughkeepsie alone generating more than $11 million annually. Elsewhere in Dutchess, the arts with momentum from Dia: Beacon and local galleries fueled the revitalization of Beacon.

Kearney started his career as a developer in Beacon in the late 1980s and saw how the arts played a pivotal role in that city’s growth.

“I was part of it and it happened neighborhood by neighborhood and it happened building by building,” he said. “The artists and the musicians and the makers were all part of it."

Located at 138 Main St., Queen City Lofts sits on a piece of land that had long been known as the Poughkeepsie Sculpture Park.

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A view from the loft of a one bedroom apartment inside Queen City Lofts in the City of Poughkeepsie on November 16, 2018.(Photo11: Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal)

The site was once home to four apartment buildings with retail stores on the bottom floors. But that changed on Feb. 10, 1973, when a deadly fire broke out in one of the apartments and spread to the other three buildings. Three residents perished.

Queen City Lofts will also house a gallery in its lobby; a ground-level restaurant that brews its own beer and maintains a roof presence; and a food market. Queen City Lofts is partnering with Hudson River Housing.

Rents for eligible artists will range from $716 per month for a one-bedroom apartment to $1,047 for a two-bedroom apartment. Rents for non-artists will be $1,099 per month for a one-bedroom units; and $1,395 per month for a two-bedroom apartment.